Further explorations of Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov mass formulas. III: Role of particle-number projection

Starting from HFB-6, we have constructed a new mass table, referred to as HFB-8, including all the 9200 nuclei lying between the two drip lines over the range of Z and N > 6 and Z < 122. It differs from HFB-6 in that the wave function is projected on the exact particle number. Like HFB-6, the isoscalar effective mass is constrained to the value 0.80 M and the pairing is density independent. The rms errors of the mass-data fit is 0.635 MeV, i.e. better than almost all our previous HFB mass formulas. The extrapolations of this new mass formula out to the drip lines do not differ significantly from the previous HFB-6 mass formula.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

First ice core records of NO3− stable isotopes from Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard

Samples from two ice cores drilled at Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, covering the period 1957–2009, and 1650–1995, respectively, were analyzed for NO3− concentrations, and NO3− stable isotopes (δ15N and δ18O). Post-1950 δ15N has an average of (−6.9 ± 1.9) ‰, which is lower than the isotopic signal known for Summit, Greenland, but agrees with values observed in recent Svalbard snow and aerosol. Pre-1900 δ15N has an average of (4.2 ± 1.6) ‰ suggesting that natural sources, enriched in the 15 N-isotope, dominated before industrialization. The post-1950 δ18O average of (75.1 ± 4.1) ‰ agrees with data from low and polar latitudes, suggesting similar atmospheric NOy (NOy = NO + NO2 + HNO3) processing pathways. The combination of anthropogenic source δ15N and transport isotope effect was estimated as −29.1 ‰ for the last 60 years. This value is below the usual range of NOx (NOx = NO + NO2) anthropogenic sources which is likely the result of a transport isotope effect of –32 ‰. We suggest that the δ15N recorded at Lomonosovfonna is influenced mainly by fossil fuel combustion, soil emissions and forest fires; the first and second being responsible for the marked decrease in δ15N observed in the post-1950s record with soil emissions being associated to the decreasing trend in δ15N observed up to present time, and the third being responsible for the sharp increase of δ15N around 2000

Cardiac Manifestations from Non-FIP1L1-PDGFRα-Associated Hypereosinophilic Syndrome in a 13-Year-Old African American Boy

Hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is a rare disorder typically seen in males, aged 20 to 50, with a predisposition for Caucasians. It is marked by overproduction of eosinophils (>1,500/μL) and multiorgan system damage due to eosinophilic infiltration and mediator release. There are multiple variants of HES. Cardiac complications are more common in myeloproliferative HES associated with the FIP1L1-PDGFRα mutation. Sequelae range from acute necrosis and thrombus formation to fibrosis of the endomyocardium. We describe a young boy who presented with chest pain and dyspnea. A diagnosis of HES was made after all other etiologies of eosinophilia were excluded. Although he was found to be negative for the FIP1L1-PDGFRα mutation, his cardiac complications included pericardial effusion and restrictive cardiomyopathy, without myocardial necrosis. Multi-organ involvement resulted in pericarditis, pleuritis, nephritis, and dermatitis. In this paper, we review his case and discuss the known subtypes of HES, the classic cardiac complications, and available treatment strategies

First Experiences with the New Law on DUID in Belgium: Alcohol and Medicines in Drug Negative Cases

Abstract In March 1999 a new law prohibiting driving while impaired by illegal drugs was introduced in Belgium. The legal procedure consists of a) a field impairment test, b) a urine immunoassay for 4 drug groups and c) ultimate proof by plasma analysis (GC-MS with fixed cut-offs). Over about two years the analysis of 896 blood samples revealed the presence of illicit drug(s) above cut-off in 85% of the cases. For the 15% &quot;false positives&quot; (failed impairment test and positive urine assay without confirmation in plasma) we investigated the possible reasons for impaired behavior. The presence of alcohol and psychoactive medication stands for an important number of our &apos;false positives&apos;. The results adduce arguments for introducing psychotropic medicines in our traffic law. Our findings further suggest that false positive cases can be reduced by minimizing the delay before blood sampling and optimizing sample preservation. Harmonization of the strategy for detection and penalization of impaired drivers (alcohol and/or drugs) is highly recommended. Introduction In March 1999 a new law on driving under the influence of illegal drugs was introduced in Belgium. The legal procedure is a three-step process: a) a field impairment test, i.e. the assessment of external signs of the presence of drugs by a standardized test battery, b) an onsite immunoassay for amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine metabolites or opiates in urine and c) blood sampling for plasma GC/MS analysis with the following analytical cut-offs: THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) 2 ng/mL, free morphine 20 ng/mL, amphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy), MDEA, MBDB, benzoylecgonine (BE) or cocaine 50 ng/mL. The urine test resp. the plasma analysis are performed on the condition that the driver fails the preceding test(s) (1,2). In 2000-2001 the analysis of 896 blood samples revealed the presence of one or more illicit drug(s) above cut-off in 85% of the cases (2). We investigated the 15% &apos;false positives&apos;, i.e. cases where the driver failed the field impairment test and the urine immunoassay test was positive for at least one drug group, but where the plasma GC-MS analysis revealed no prohibited drug above cut-off. In such cases the full legal procedure for driving under the influence of illicit drugs was completed but the driver was not fined or penalized

Using XDAQ in Application Scenarios of the CMS Experiment

XDAQ is a generic data acquisition software environment that emerged from a rich set of of use-cases encountered in the CMS experiment. They cover not the deployment for multiple sub-detectors and the operation of different processing and networking equipment as well as a distributed collaboration of users with different needs. The use of the software in various application scenarios demonstrated the viability of the approach. We discuss two applications, the tracker local DAQ system for front-end commissioning and the muon chamber validation system. The description is completed by a brief overview of XDAQ.Comment: Conference CHEP 2003 (Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics, La Jolla, CA

The CMS Event Builder

The data acquisition system of the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider will employ an event builder which will combine data from about 500 data sources into full events at an aggregate throughput of 100 GByte/s. Several architectures and switch technologies have been evaluated for the DAQ Technical Design Report by measurements with test benches and by simulation. This paper describes studies of an EVB test-bench based on 64 PCs acting as data sources and data consumers and employing both Gigabit Ethernet and Myrinet technologies as the interconnect. In the case of Ethernet, protocols based on Layer-2 frames and on TCP/IP are evaluated. Results from ongoing studies, including measurements on throughput and scaling are presented. The architecture of the baseline CMS event builder will be outlined. The event builder is organised into two stages with intelligent buffers in between. The first stage contains 64 switches performing a first level of data concentration by building super-fragments from fragments of 8 data sources. The second stage combines the 64 super-fragments into full events. This architecture allows installation of the second stage of the event builder in steps, with the overall throughput scaling linearly with the number of switches in the second stage. Possible implementations of the components of the event builder are discussed and the expected performance of the full event builder is outlined.Comment: Conference CHEP0